Prepping for Taxtime

On these long cold days, atleast something can be done in the house for the good of the farm.  Being stuck inside as the thermometer plummets below zero can bring on a case of cabin fever quicker than ice covers the stock  tank when the tank heater malfunctions.

Hauling out the receipts, checkbook registers and pillow for my computer chair, I embark upon the journey of prepping our books for our tax appointment for the end of January.  It's not a whole lot of fun, tallying all of your expenses and income (meager at times!), but it gives purpose to those hours spent indoors relishing every last piece of wood that you put on the woodpile, keeping the house nice and toasty.  Seeing the numbers begin to compile down the spreadsheets gives credence to the feeling you've had in your gut since you dropped the last load of corn in the gravity box to haul to the grain elevator.  Good year.  Bad year.

Good or bad, nothing compares to seeing golden grain flowing into the hopper at the elevator, knowing that you did your best to bring the best yield from your acreage that you possibly could.  For several years, Farmer Rick only raised corn to feed the cows here on the home place.  But after honing his skills and slowly adding a better line of planting, tillage and harvesting equipment to the lineup, we've been able to have a couple of semiloads of corn after filling the cribs with corn to sell.  We are very thankful to God for giving us this extra income.  What a help it has been in times of low milk prices to have a few thousand extra bushel of corn on hand to drop on a bill or two!

In reference to our previous entry on our blog, we have had no more major surprises in the barn as far as losing cattle.  We have the meat in the freezer from the young cow that we lost, and have moved a few heifers around to balance out the stocking rate in the pen that housed the heifer we lost.  It still hurts to lose an animal.  Any animal.  But chores still need to be done, animals fed, pipes thawn out and tractors started that just don't want to turn over in below zero weather.  You learn.  Try to take the best care of your animals and property that you possibly can and take what is dealt to you.  Your dependence upon God and his provision deepens, and you look forward to those warm sunny days that are coming ever closer, choosing your seed corn varieties, purchasing fertilizer needs, and anticipating yet another year of challenge and growth.

Losing a Cow

Maybe it's the long cold days of winter that seem to drag you down after awhile, or the ever shrinking milk check as you struggle to pay the bills that continually seem to mount.  Maybe it's just the culmination of many things that eventually pull  you down into a funk that only begins to slowly be stripped away as the days lengthen and the warmth strengthens.

But losing a cow just pulls you down by the seat of the pants and makes one wonder "what am I doing?", "why does this have to happen to us?"  We once had a relative tell us, one who had been milking cows for over 30 years, that no matter how well you fed  your cows, took care of your cows, vetted, vaccinated, bedded or pastured your cows, they always found a new way to die on you.  Just about the time you thought you had every conceiveable disease covered with a vaccination, a magnet down them for hardware, better nutritionally balanced meals than your own family, that something new, something unusual would always creep up and catch you from behind.  Well, that's what happened this week.

We have always prided ourselves in how well we take care of our girls.  We make sure that they are clean, well-fed, and provided lots of green pasture when the season permits.  But just a couple of days ago, we had a herd health scheduled with the vet and had him take a quick look at a cow that seemed a little "off".  We had hoped that at worst, it would be a DA (twisted stomach) and a simple, (but quite expensive) surgery could remedy the problem.  Once checking her over, we could tell the the look on his face that something was seriously wrong.  When your vet asks if you've put your meat grinder away yet from deer season, you know that it's serious.  Our young cow, one that was due to be dried off the following day with a March calf in her, had ruptured her cecum (similar to an appendix) and was bleeding to death internally.  There was nothing we could do but lead her out the door, drop her with a bullet and prep her for the freezer.  Her calf wasn't far enough along to be able to save, but she was a fine heifer calf indeed.

Losing a 400 pound heifer calf last night didn't help things either.  It seems like when it rains, it pours.  Really pours.

One minute she's munching her hay and grain, the next she's on her side bellowing and thrashing in pain.  Her stomach immediately swelled up and she was like a baloon ready to pop.  While wrestling with her in the pen, trying to get the tube down her throat to alleviate the pressure, she suffocated and died in my arms.  All I could do was sit there in the straw and bawl.  What else can you do?

Yes, this blog is here to not only express the joys of farming, but to also give a window into the reality of farming.  You try SO hard to care for your land and animals, pay the bills on an ever shrinking share of the food dollar, and yet there are so many things that continually work against you.  It's still a great way of life, but Oh, can these times ever pull you down.

A New Year

Bitter cold greets us as we begin another year on the farm.  After working outside most of the day milking, putting up firewood, cleaning barn, feeding calves, horses and pigs, to be greeted by a warm house when the work is finished is just what a person needs!

So far there have been few minor breakdowns - keep your fingers crossed and keep praying!  Farmer Rick has had to make a few trips up to the top of the silo to replace a burned out belt and chip frozen silage off of the walls while it runs, but as of yet, no down cows, frozen/burst water lines or major tractor fuel line freeze-ups.  We just take one day at a time and go with it. 

When coming in out of the cold, a hot meal of pork chops, mashed potatos, jello and steamy buttered rolls sure warms a person up quick!  This is the time of year that we also enjoy evenings of old movies, playing cards and working on craft projects in the warmth of the living room.  These are great family times that we cherish very much.  All too soon, the kids grow up and these wonderful times together are but distant memories.  But atleast I feel reassured knowing that we had the time to create them in the first place.  Once the first hints of spring are in the air, it's time to once again begin the cycle of fieldwork, fencing, baling hay, etc. that goes with the yearly round of events on the farm, and the quiet, easy nights after chores become filled with the work that just can't wait for another day.  But we're glad that we have this opportunity to live and work on the rolling farmland that God has given us.  It's been a good life and we look forward to many more years of turning the earth and watching the fruits of our labor grow and flourish.

Christmas has Come!

What a time of celebration with family and friends!  Early Christmas morning (about 3:30), the dogs and I snuck off to the barn while Farmer Rick and family slept soundly.  While sweeping the mangers and prepping the cows for milking, the new farm dog - Sandy - chased barn kitties around and under the still half-asleep cows.  They were dozing in and out as the light bulbs gradually brightened as they warmed and the radio cranked out joyous Christmas tunes.

There is no quiet way to turn on the milker pump, but I was hoping that no one would wake in the house.  We managed to keep our secret quiet for about 3/4 of the milking, but soon thereafter, Farmer Rick came down to the barn, rubbing his still sleepy eyes and patting one of the dogs on the head as he entered the barn.  We hurried through the rest of chores and quickly headed back to the house before daylight.  We warmed up the griddle and had pancakes, OJ and cinnamon rolls ready to go as the kids both young and old were crawling out of bed.

The only thing wrong was that once the day started to get in full swing, Farmer Rick and I couldn't keep out eyes open as we settled in the couch to watch all of the festivities!

Getting the Tree

What a super cold day!  We finished up with a blizzard-like snowstorm late last night, but now that the snow has ended, we are left with a bitter cold wind.  Still, we all bundled up in our snowmobile suits and heavy gloves to head to the woods to find a tree.  One of our boys took a snowmobile ahead of us to break a path through the snow because it was so deep, then followed by Farmer Rick with a plow on the four wheeler.  Behind them followed mom with the horse harnessed up and ready to drag the tree back.  Even with the path broke by the snowmobile and four wheeler, both horse and driver were huffing and puffing, dragging ourselves through the very deep snow!  Farmer Rick ended up picking up stragglers along the way, piling them on the back of the four wheeler, as they were getting quite tired from trugging through the snow!  Luckily, I had been in the woods before the snowstorm hit to pick out a tree.  Two days prior, I took one of the geldings to the woods to scout one out so that we could save time and energy since I knew the storm was coming. 

We quickly spotted our "Charlie Brown" tree and one of my boys cut it down.  I attached it to the logging chain and away we went, dragging the tree behind us, right up to the back door of the house!  Boy, am I ever glad we had that tree picked out ahead of time!  ALL were cold and wiped out from trudging through the snow.  Even though the tree is rather thin, these have been pretty much the norm throughout the years and our family is used to them.  A very "spacious" tree harvested from our swamp, but loved by all!

Filling the woodpile

As I look out the window at the sliver of moon in the easter sky, my eye shifts to the thermometer reading minus 1.  While contemplating the cold,my mind wanders to the woodpile that is quickly diminishing in the woodshed.  With all of the fall work and activities, this project just kept being put aside.  But now, it's payback time!  Farmer Rick spent a good deal of time after milking last night sharpening saws, mixing gas, and checking oil levels.  Today we will be spending almost the entire day in the woods trying to catch up on the wood supply.  When walking the woods during deer season, we take a mental note of fallen trees and blow-down branches.  There's a huge oak that is blown over from the roots on the backside of our heifer pasture that will be about a 3 day project to cut up.  But, it's nice to know that the wood won't go to waste.  Farmer Rick will take the John Deere 3020 with the wood-hauler (retired) manure spreader, and I'll take the four wheeler and cart for hauling saws, chain oil (and tired dog) to the woods.  As long as one can stay dry with a thermos full of hot chocolate of coffee, you can last a long time in the woods, even if the temp doesn't meander much above zero for the day.  We are supposed to get a few inches of snow starting this afternoon, so it'll be nice to have the bulk of the wood loaded in the old spreader before it hits.  But, it will be so much easier to relax and watch the falling snow this evening after chores, knowing that we've made a substantial gain in the supply of wood.  It will take a full week of days like this to get the woodshed full, but it'll be worth it.  Having wood heat compares to none other when it comes to constant warmth that fills every room.  After spending many a cold winter in drafty old farmhouses, it's a welcome caress of warmth that greets you when you come in the door after a long day in the woods and chores in the barn.

Putting the Orange away

The countertop is filled with used hand-warmers, bullets and compasses.  Farmer Rick has been emptying the pockets of blaze orange bibs, jackets and coats, getting ready to pack them away for another year.  This is one job that I don't look forward to doing, but if the gear is going to be ready to go for next year, it all needs to be washed and packed away in our "hunting" barrels kept in the loft of the garage.

All-in-all, we had a wonderful season.  Everybody got atleast one of their tags filled.  We had a great time in the woods, tromping up and down the hills and getting great workouts that would rival any that they throw at contestants in those weight-loss programs on TV.  The scenery in the woods can't be beat either.  Once in awhile, we come across bitter-sweet vines that grow amongst the bushes in the woods.  They stand out from quite a distance when there's snow on the ground.  Beautiful.  Just looking at the tree branches and how each and every one lifts toward the sky.  It's as if they're praising their Creator night and day, lifting up their joy.

The only thing I don't like about the end of the season is seeing everybody pack up and go home.  I still choke up when the last one pulls out of the driveway as they begin their journey home.  Some travel back into a busy life that is so different from our own.  But, for ten days each fall, we enjoy one another's company, and have a wealth of memories and stories to repeat over the years.  I think that these good times together just adds to the "pull" that brings them back, year after year, to a long-standing family tradition that is being passed on to future generations.